Wire line setting and releasing devices



Sept. 18, 1962 R. T. EVANS 3,054,454

WIRE LINE SETTING AND RELEASING DEVICES Filed May ze, 195e FIG.: FIG. 2

ilnited States 3,954,454 Patented Sept. 18, 1962 ire 3 054,454 WIRE LINE SETTING ,AND RELEASNG DEVICES Robert T. Evans, Duncan, Okla., assignor to Halliburton Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 26, 1958, Ser. No. 737,855 4 Claims. (Cl. 166-178) This invention relates to wire line setting and releasing devices for use in oil well bore holes or the like and more particularly to apparatus for imparting relatively rotational movement between two devices located therein.

The use of jars for imparting rotational movement in an oil well is not new. For example, the patent to Noe, 46,815, granted March 14, 1865, discloses a jar in which one element is provided with spiral grooves and another element provided with pins or projections which travel therein and impart relative rotational movement between the two elements. Devices operating on the same principle are found in the patent to Edwards, 1,450,024, granted March 27, 1923, and the patent to Kinley, 2,739,654, granted March 27, 1956. insofar as has been determined all of the devices of the prior art which are suitable for use on a wire line and which are designed to impart relative rotational movement between objects in oil wells have relied upon the principle of inertia to impart the required rotational movement.

In accordance with the present invention, rotational movement is imported to an arbor lowered into the well on a wire line or cable by providing a drag spring assembly on the arbor which drag spring assembly contacts the casing in the well or the wall of the bore hole so as to resist rotational movement with respect to the bore hole. Thus, the inertia of the drag spring assembly plays but a minor part in causing rotational movement of the arbor. The rotation of the arbor is caused primarily by the fact that the drag spring assembly is frictionally held against rotation.

The objects of the invention will be apparent from what has been said above and from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE l is a somewhat diagrammatic View partly in vertical cross section of apparatus suitable for setting a bridge plug in an oil well, the gure illustrating the complete assembly including the bridge plug;

FIGURE 2 is a somewhat diagrammatic view similar to that of FIGURE 1 and showing a different embodiment of apparatus for imparting rotational movement to a device in an oil well;

FIGURE 3 is a layout diagram of the cam and cam follower device of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a Vertical partially cross-sectional view of a bridge plug which may be set in a well with the apparatus of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that fragments of the casing of an oil well are shown at 9 in FIGURES l and 2. A bridge plug of the type shown in FIGURE 4 is shown located in the casing 9. The bridge plug has a mandrel 14 which is supported from a socket member 11 which is connected by a shear pin 19 to a sleeve 16. This sleeve 16 is connected by the pin and J-slot assembly 12-13 to a mandrel 14.

The mandrel 14 is provided with ports 15 which cooperate with the sleeve 16 to serve as a sleeve valve. When the sleeve 16 is pulled upwardly to the position shown in FIGURE 2, the ports 15 are closed. When in the position of FIGURE 1, fluid can iiow upwardly through the mandrel 14 and out through the ports 15 and the ports 20 in the sleeve 16. The shoulder 17 on the mandrel serves to limit longitudinal movement of the sleeve 16 with respect to the mandrel 14.

Suitable swab cups 21 and 22 are mounted on the mandrel 14 and held against longitudinal movement with respect thereto. The mandrel also has a strainer 23.

Also mounted on the mandrel 14 is a slip cage 24 which is provided with suitable slips 25 and with drag springs 26. The cage 24 is provided with inwardly projecting pins 27 which coact with J-slots 28 in the mandrel and with spreader blocks 29 and 30, to cause the slips 25 to engage the casing 9 when desired. The drag springs 26 tend to hold the cage 24 stationary in the casing 9, so that the slips 25 can be set merely by rotating the mandrel 14 to turn the pins 27 out of the J-slots 2S and then either lifting up or setting down of the mandrel 14.

The bridge plug illustrated cannot be set in the casing in the well until relative rotational movement is imparted to the mandrel 14 and sleeve 16. lf the bridge plug is lowered into the well on tubing and the tubing is connected to the sleeve 16, no trouble is encountered in imparting this relative rotational movement since the drag springs 26 hold the mandrel against rotation. However, if the bridge plug assembly is lowered into the well on a wire line, such as a cable, rotational movement cannot readily be imparted to the sleeve 16.

The apparatus of the present invention is such that rotational movement can be imparted to the sleeve 16. As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the device is lowered into the well on a cable 31 which is provided with a heavy weight 32 which may serve as one element of a jar. The jar is shown as consisting of an ordinary link such as has been used for many years in connection with cable tools, and is of the general type illustrated in FIGURE 96 on page 240 of the History of Petroleum Engineering published by the American Petroleum Institute in 1961. Of course, any other known jar could be employed.

Beneath the jar 32, there is a swivel 33. Here again only a conventional swivel has been illustrated, although any other form could be employed.

Beneath the swivel, the apparatus is provided with a suitable arbor. lIn the arrangement of FIGURE 1, this arbor is designated 34. lt is provided with two grooves 35, the lower portions of which are in the shape of a double threaded screw. Thus lands 35a are provided, which constitute cams.

For cooperation with the cams 35a, suitable pins or cam followers 36 are provided. These pins 36 are carried by cylinder 37 which is freely slidable on the arbor 34. The cylinder 37 is provided with drag springs 38 adapted to engage the casing 9 in the well. Thus, the pins 36, cylinder 37, and drag springs 38 constitute a drag spring assembly which can readily slide along the Wall of the bore hole, but which cannot readily be rotated with respect to the bore hole. When the arbor 34 is moved vertically with respect to the drag spring assembly, rotational movement will be imparted to the arbor. If the arbor is pulled up from the position shown in FIG- URE 1, it will be rotated to the left, as viewed from above. If, then, it is lowered with respect to the drag spring assembly, it will be rotated to the right, as viewed from above. In connection with the bridge plug illustrated in FIGURE l, the purpose of the arbor 34 and drag spring assembly is to impart right hand rotation to the sleeve 16 to set the bridge plug in the well. Accordingly, an arrow indicating right hand motion has been placed on the arbor 34 in FIGURE l.

At its lower end, the arbor 34 is shown screwthreaded into the coupling member or socket 11. As mentioned L above, this socket 11 is connected to the sleeve 15 through the shear pin 19. 'Ihe sleeve 16 is provided with an upwardly extending neck'44 for making connection to the pin 19. This neck 44 is provided with a number of utes or splines 43 and with a ring groove 46, but these serve no purpose in connection with the setting arbor 34 of FIG. 1. They are used in connection with the releasing arbor of FIGURE 2, as will be explained hereinafter.

The shear pin 19 is made strong enough to permit rotational movement to lbe transmitted from the arbor 34 to the sleeve 16. It is designed to shear, however, after the bridge plug has been set in the casing and strain taken in the cable 31 so that the arbor 34 and the drag spring assembly along with the swivel 33 and the jar 32 can be removed from the well.

To set the bridge plug shown in FIGURE l, the assembly illustrated is lowered into the well until it is just below the point Where it is desired to set the bridge plug. The'arbor assembly is then raised slightly so as to cause the pins '36 to travel to the lower ends of the grooves 35. As the arbor assembly is raised with respect to the drag spring assembly, left hand rotation is imparted to the arbor 34 by the cylinder 37 until the pins 36 are at the bottom of the cams 35a.

As the arbor 34 is rotated to the left, with the bridge plug being in the running-in position, the coacting pins 12 and J-slots 13 will rotate the mandrel 14 to the left as well. This mandrel movement will induce corresponding rotation of the cage 24 and thus rotary sliding movement of drag spring 26.

The parts are now in a position suitable for setting the bridge plug. To accomplish this, the cable '31 is slacked olf rapidly so that a downward jar is directed onto the arbor 34. This causes it to rotate to the right and this rotary movement being imparted to the sleeve 16 causes the bridge plug to set.

The setting of the bridge plug is initiated by coaction between sleeve pins 12 and mandrel J-slots 13. The sleeve 16 when rotated to the right, causes the pins 12 to engage the lower portions of J-slots 13 so as to rotate the Vmandrel 14 to the right and move the mandrel J-slots 28 so as to align their longer longitudinal portions with the cage pins 27. With this alignment, the mandrel 14 is freed to move to allow the spreader blocks to engage the slips 25 and urge them outwardly into engagement with the casing. Longitudinal setting movement of mandrel 14 may be induced by the well bore iiuid presure differential acting on the swab cups or by a longitudinal force mposed by arbor 34.

' 'Ihe setting assembly of FIGURE l is then removed from the well by causing the pin 19 to shear. The upward pull on line 31 which elfects this shearing, will exert an upward force on sleeve 16 to move it upwardly and insure that the mandrel ports are closed.

The apparatus of FIGURE 2 is designed primarily for releasing and retrieving the bridge plug.

In FIGURE 2, the arbor is designated 39. It is used in connection with a drag spring assembly identical to that of FIGURE l and so the same reference characters have been used to illustrate the drag spring assembly.

Y The cam surface on the arbor 39 is dilerent from that shown at l35a on the arbor 34 of FIGURE l, however. The cam surface of FIGURE 2 is shown at 40 and the manner in which it coacts with the pins 36 is shown in FIGURE 3. The surface of the arbor 39 is cut away to leave alternately projecting 4teeth ysuitably staggered. The cam thus provided is in the general form of an annular groove encircling the arbor and having upper and lower edges which dene a plurality of discrete and peripherally spaced sloping cam surfaces 39a. As a result of the oppositely inclined and peripherally offset disposition of these cam surfaces, as the arbor 39 is moved either up or down with respect to the drag spring assembly, left hand motion is imparted to the arbor. The arrows of FIGURES 2 and 3 illustrate the direction of movement of the arbor.

The lower end of the arbor 39 is provided with a lishing socket `41 of the overshot type. The socket 41 has utes or splines 42 on its interior surface which cooperate with the splines 43 on the neck 44 of the sleeve 16 to prevent relative rotation between the arbor 39 and the sleeve 16. A conventional snap ring 45 is also provided so as to firmly secure the socket 41 to the neck 44.

The bridge plug illustrated in FIGURE 2 is released from the well bore by rotating it to the left.

The manner in which the assembly of FIGURE 2 is employed to release the bridge plug is accomplished as follows:

The asesmbly is lowered into the well until the socket 41 is connected to the neck 44 of the sleeve 16. The cable 31 is then slacked off or lifted alternately to cause the jar 32 to impart blows up or downto the arbor 39. Since the pins y36 cannot readily be rotated with respect to the casing 9, the arbor '39 is rotated to the left and this movement is imparted to the sleeve 16 until the bridge plug is released. It will be observed that the slots 1'3 which connect the sleeve 16 to the mandrel 14 have longitudinally extending portions. The purpose of these is to permit the assembly of the arbor 39 and sleeve 16 to move lvertically sufficiently to enable the drag spring assembly and cam 40 to operate. J

While only two embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein, it is obvious that various changes may be made in the arrangements and construction of parts without departing from the Vspirit of the invention or the scope of the annexed claims.

I claim:

1. A device for use on a wire line in an oil well bore hole or the like for imparting rotation to Van object supported on the wire line by said device, said device comprising arbor means, drag spring means, said drag spring means being mounted on jsaid arbor means for longitudinal movement with respect thereto and having laterally outwardly projecting resilient elements `for friction-ally engaging the wall of a well bore to resist rotational movement with respect to the bore hole, one of said means having a cam carried thereby, and the other of said means having a `cam follower carried thereby, -and swivel means for connecting said arbor means to a Wire line, said cam having surface means inclined relative to the direction of movement of said cam follower whereby said cam and cam follower coact with said arbor means and drag spring means for causing rotation of said arbor means as it is moved longitudinally with respect to said rotationally restrained drag spring means by a linear movement of said wire line.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 in which the cam and cam follower consist of a'double threaded screw on the arbor and inwardly projecting pins on the drag spring assembly.

3. A device as dened in claim l in which said cam comprises -a generally anular groove encircling said arbor means and having upper and lower edges dening a plurality of discrete, peripherally spaced, and sloping cam surfaces, with the upper and lower edge surfaces'being oppositely inclined and peripherally oifset; and said cam follower comprises pins carried by said dra-g yspring means and projecting inwardly into said groove.

4. A device `for vsupporting and imparting rotational movement to an object in an oil well bore hole or the like comprising a jar adapted `to be connected to a cable, a swivel connected to the jar, arbor means connected to the swivel, cylinder means mounted on said arbor means for longitudinal movement with respect thereto, said cylinder reans having drag springs mounted thereon and projecting laterally outwardly to engage the wall of a well bore to resist rotational movement with respect to the bore hole, a cam carried by one of said means and a cam follower carried by the other of said means, said cam having surface means inclined relative to the direction of movement of said cam follower whereby `said cam `and cam follower coact with said arbor means and cylinder means to cause rotation of said arbor means when said 6 jar is reciprocated to impart reciprocating movement to said arbor means with respect to said rotationally restrained cylinder means and drag springs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 46,815 Noe Mar. 14, 1865 1,450,024 Edwards Mar. 27, 1923 2,106,235 Brown lan. 25, 1938 2,371,498 Boynton Mar. 13, 1945 2,713,910 Baker et a1. July 26, 1955 2,739,654 `Kinley etal Mar. 27, 1956 2,776,012 Baker Jan. 1, 1957 

